QUESTION
If we file for bankruptcy and leave the country, do I have to repay the loan? How does the repayment work?
Asked on Aug 08th, 2013 on Bankruptcy - New Jersey
More details to this question:
My employment comes to an end in the last week of September 2013. I will have to leave the country as I will become out of status. I and my wife have a total debt of approximately $28,000. We really can't pay the debt back as it’s too much for us in the currency that I will be earning in India. Since we will be outside the country, will our debt be cancelled? If I and my wife, or children come to work/study/settle in United States in the future, will the bankruptcy affect us or our children?
7 ANSWERS
General Law Attorney serving Cherry Hill, NJ
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Mark S. Cherry, Attorney at Law, PC
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If you have a discharge in bankruptcy (chapter 7) on the loan (assuming they are dischargeable debts) the creditors cannot continue collection. Your children would not be affected at all now or in the future except if you need student aid for them.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2013 at 1:42 AM
Regulatory Attorney serving Spokane, WA
Partner at
Deissner Law Office, P.C.
The debt will not go away unless you declare Bankruptcy. Of course the creditor is unlikely to pursue you in India. The Bankruptcy will remain on your credit profile in the US for 7 years or more, but you're hardly the first person to have a bankruptcy on your record. If the debt is nondischargeable (e.g. student loans) then it will essentially never go away. However if you return it will just be another old debt, hard to say if anyone will seek to enforce it. Your wife might be affected since this is a community property state. Your children would see no effect.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2013 at 1:42 AM
If you file bankruptcy, you would need to do so with enough time to attend a mandatory meeting with your trustee to be assigned by the court. So you would want to file your case at least 6 weeks before your flight leaves. Or you can leave, and the creditors will be unlikely to have any ability to collect from you once you are gone. The debt won't be cancelled for many years, but it will not affect your ability to enter the US, unless the debt is to a public hospital. In any event, this debt won't affect your children's ability to travel to the US.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2013 at 1:42 AM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Glendale, CA
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JT Legal Group
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You really should find an attorney, pay him $200-$300 to look at all your docs and give you a complete answer. From what you tell me, if these are just general unsecured debts then the best thing to do, most likely, is to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy before you leave. If you leave, the debt will just linger on and will be a nuisance when you get back. As far as it affecting your ability to come back, I am not an immigration expert but what I have heard is leaving with debt will not have an effect on your ability to come back. Again, this depends on the type of debt and some other things like what you will be doing in India, etc.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2013 at 1:42 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Florissant, MO
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Law Offices of Thomas Corcoran Phipps
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If you leave the country, your debt will not be cancelled. If your children come here, they will not be liable for your debts.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2013 at 1:42 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Madison, WI
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Richard B. Jacobson & Associates, LLC
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A bankruptcy should not directly affect your eligibility to return to the US. While you certainly are free to leave the country after you file a bankruptcy petition, you absolutely must be present at the Meeting of Creditors,which takes place 3-5 weeks after you file the petition. Once you attend the so-called meeting, and if there are no special problems in the case, you can leave the country. It's best to retain an experienced bankruptcy lawyer for this kind of situation.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2013 at 1:42 AM
2 Awards
By filing for bankruptcy ones debt is discharged. If you're eligible for a chapter 7 this does not require any payment on the debt. If your only recourse is chapter 13 you must make anywhere between 36 to 60 monthly payments in order to receive your discharge. The discharge affects only those individuals to file bankruptcy, not their children.
Answered on Aug 16th, 2013 at 1:42 AM